Borussia Dortmund vs Nuremberg: probable line-ups, match stats and LIVE blog

USA international Christian Pulisic is in the goalscoring form of his life as Borussia Dortmund prepare to welcome promoted Nuremberg to the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday (kick-off: 8:30pm CEST/7:30pm BST/2:30pm ET).

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Pulisic has twice been Dortmund’s saviour in the past week with the winner at Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League and then the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim on Saturday. Coach Lucien Favre has employed Abdou Diallo and Manuel Akanji at centre-back in every game so far this season, but after the former was sent off at the weekend a reshuffle is necessary at the back. That could see a competitive debut for Real Madrid loanee Achraf Hakimi at full-back with Lukasz Piszczek moving inside alongside Akanji. Striker Paco Alcacer scored on his one and only appearance for BVB against Eintracht Frankfurt, but after missing the two games since with a thigh problem he’s now in line for a first competitive start.

Nuremberg travel to Dortmund on the back of their first Bundesliga victory since 2014 thanks to their 2-0 win over Hannover. Törles Knöll was the hero of that game after coming off the bench to force the own goal and then score the second himself a minute later. He will be pushing for a starting position up front after that performance as coach Michael Köllner may look to rotate for this midweek fixture. Should there be changes, Sporting Lisbon loanee Matheus Pereira will be hopeful of another chance to impress from the start in front of 80,000 fans.

Probable line-ups

Dortmund: Bürki – Hakimi, Piszczek, Akanji, Schmelzer – Dahoud, Witsel – Wolf, Reus (c), Pulisic – AlcacerAbsentees: Diallo (suspended), Toprak (thigh)Coach: Lucien Favre

Nuremberg: Bredlow – Valentini, Margreitter, Mühl, Leibold – Fuchs, Petrak, Behrens (c) – Misidjan, Ishak, KuboAbsentees: Ewerton (ankle), Lippert (cruciate ligament), Salli (ill)Coach: Michael Köllner